1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an inverted pendulum type vehicle. More specifically, to the placement of electric drive units and a battery mounted on a vehicle body frame.
2. Description of Background Art
An inverted pendulum type vehicle is known wherein a vehicle body frame is provided with a main wheel made by combining a plurality of freely-rotatable driven rollers in such a manner that the rotational axis lines of these driven rollers form an annular shape. A pair of left and right drive disks are provided that are rotatably supported by the vehicle body frame in such a manner so as to be substantially concentric with the rotational axis line of the main wheel and to be located on both sides of the main wheel with the plurality of freely-rotatable drive rollers being disposed in contact with the driven rollers with a torsional relationship. A drive means is provided that individually drives the left and right drive disks. See, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2011-68222.
In the inverted pendulum type vehicle according to Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2011-68222, the drive means including the electric motors is disposed above the main wheel and the drive disks and the rotational force of the electric motors is transmitted to the drive disks by transmission belts.
In the case of the inverted pendulum type vehicle in which a rider saddle is provided at an upper part of the vehicle body frame or rider steps are provided on the left and right sides of a lower part of the vehicle body frame or both of the saddle and the steps are provided and on which a rider rides in such a manner so as to straddle the main wheel in the left-right direction, it is demanded to suppress the height of the vehicle body frame in consideration of the ease of getting-on and getting-off of the rider. In particular, in the inverted pendulum type vehicle in which the rider saddle is provided at the upper part of the vehicle body frame, it is demanded that the height of the rider saddle from the floor surface is low so that the rider may easily sit on the rider saddle. Furthermore, with this demand met, it is demanded that the drive means and so forth mounted on the vehicle body frame does not get in the way of the rider when the rider gets on or off the vehicle and when the rider is in the riding state.